Something Special
by After Six
Summary: Minako has one secret she keeps even from her closest confidante.


**Something Special**

Minako had a locked box in the back of her closet holding something she wanted no one else to see, not even Artemis.

Artemis only ever caught sight of the wooden ivory box once as Minako was locking it and putting it back on its place, when he had tiptoed into Minako's room so quietly even her honed senses had failed to detect his presence. The expression on her face was one that he could not fully decipher, but the gravity of it stopped him short, its intensity striking him.

It was an expression of solemnity—the kind he had only ever seen on Silver Millennium Venus' face—and affection, the kind you might show toward a dear friend. There was wistfulness too, there, hidden under the obvious layers, and perhaps more, but Minako had turned too quickly and noticed him before he could unravel the rest of it. She had looked surprised—a moment of complete vulnerability and unguardedness—before, in a blink of an eye, her face had morphed into her usual playfulness and easy smile, her tone chiding as she said, "It's rude to sneak into a lady's room without knocking, Artemis."

Artemis blinked, his gaze still on the box as Minako stood up and closed the closet door. "What's in the box, Minako?" he asked carefully.

"My toys, if you know what I mean. Don't touch it if you don't want to scar yourself for life," she replied without missing a beat.

Artemis glowered. "I don't believe you." She always played 'dirty' when she was trying to hide something.

Well, not always. Sometimes she just went there. But this did not feel like one of those times.

"Do you really want to call my bluff, Artemis? You know what always happens when you play chicken with me." Minako looked at him unflinchingly, a challenge in her eyes.

Artemis twitched. "I'll leave you to your secrets," he finally relented, feeling like this might be better for his health for now.

Minako was already spinning around to pick out a manga from her bookshelf and hummed to herself as she bounced onto the bed and started reading it, ignoring him and acting as if nothing ever happened at all.

* * *

Approximately one millennia later, one month after the death of Sailor Venus, Artemis finally made himself go into Minako's room. He opened a different closet than the one she had all those centuries ago, and found the same locked box, the exact same ivory wood, only with obvious signs of aging. He ran his hand along the top, finding that it wasn't buried in dust, which signified the fact that she took it out often.

His curiosity had dimmed over the years since he'd first discovered it, but now that she was gone, it had suddenly returned in full force.

It was one of Minako's secrets that he never uncovered, and now the need to find out was practically clawing at him. Especially after how she died. He _needed_ to find some kind of justification, and he had the irrational thought that this box might be able to provide just that.

The lock was from the 20th century, so it was easy to crack open with current modern technology. As it unlatched, Artemis paused, feeling as if he was about to desecrate her memory, about to touch something sacred.

Was he making a mistake after all? Would Minako want him to open this? Or should he have respected her wish and left it alone? Maybe bury it with her?

He opened the lid before he could second guess himself to infinity, and his breath caught.

It was a collection of pictures and articles, all bearing Minako's name and photos. She was smiling so brightly in all of them, looking more alive than Artemis had ever seen her. Joyous, triumphant, _golden_. Cradling a microphone, singing her heart out, jumping on stage.

The headlines were unfamiliar. _Minako Aino's Debut CD Immediately Sold a Million Copies. Idol Superstar Minako Aino On Her World Tour. Minako Aino Becomes The New Judge in Prestigious Singing Competition: The Voice of Japan._

At first, he looked at them in confusion. None of them was real. These things never happened. Minako never became an idol. She never became famous. She must have written these articles herself and added her own pictures. Each piece was lovingly created and laminated, clearly intended to be preserved forever.

But… why?

Was this box the collection of her secret daydreams? The dream she never got to make come true?

At first Artemis felt the weight of devastation on his chest, remembering the worst and hardest day he had experienced in his very long life.

The day he had to watch the enemy of the crown kill Sailor Venus, who was posing as the decoy queen, carrying out her duty until her death. How he'd looked upon her limp body on the throne, looking _wrong_ on that chair, her disguise still intact yet slowly fading as the magic left her along with her last breath. How she didn't even get to die as Minako or Venus but as the fake Neo Queen Serenity.

Perhaps it was that part that had gutted him the most. That even until the end, Minako was denied her chance to shine, when she had so much light of her own. The golden goddess.

But then he noticed another slip of paper at the bottom, this one with Minako's handwriting on it rather than typed fonts.

With trembling hands, he picked it up.

It was a letter addressed to him.

 _Dear Artemis,  
My most trusted guide, advisor, and friend. If you are reading this, then I hope I'm gone, otherwise I might kill you myself. _

_Kidding. I think. I hope I made you smile anyway, because I had a feeling you need it._

(He did smile.)

 _Please don't misunderstand the contents of this box. It is not my buried wish or the 'road not driven', as they say. Is that how the saying goes?_

(No, Minako, that's not how the saying goes. After many millennia, you'd think she would have stopped confusing her metaphors.)

 _Anyway. Whatever. The point is, I made my choice. I've made my choice long ago, to be honest. About what my true dream is._

 _And that is to serve my princess, my future queen, for the rest of my life. Not because I have to, or because my past life says so, but because I **choose** to. And Artemis, that is the most important thing. If I am not here anymore, I should hope it was because of old age, but we both know it's likely something else. And if it is indeed something else, then I probably died in the line of duty._

 _You should know that I'm perfectly fine with this. You're probably angry right now, on behalf of me, on behalf of my duty, or both. You're probably angry that you got me into this whole thing in the first place, but with this letter, I absolve you. I'm letting you know it's **my** choice, and I wouldn't have died other than on my own terms._

 _So be at peace, Artemis, and live the rest of your life with a clear conscience._

 _This box represents the childish dream I once had, one that I happily boxed away because I'd found something better. It is here as a reminder that I **chose** this life, not that I was forced into it._

 _It is also my last and special gift to you, to thank you for all your words of wisdom and your loyalty, for staying by my side no matter what or how difficult I made your life (And I know I can be **very** difficult.)_

 _I love you, and don't miss me too much._

 _Love,_  
 _Your eternal friend,_  
 _Minako_

When Artemis finished reading the letter, he clutched it to his chest as tears streamed down his cheeks, and he wept for the friend who could always knew his needs ahead of time and prepared for it, for the mentee he had guided since she was just a silly thirteen year old girl, for the guardian whose loyalty was unshaken until the bitter end, and for the golden goddess whose shine, for him, was always going to be the brightest.


End file.
